VATICAN CITY
CNN
[with video]
By John L. Allen Jr., CNN Senior Vatican Analyst
updated 5:50 PM EST, Sat February 23, 2013
Editor’s note: John L. Allen Jr. is CNN’s senior Vatican analyst and senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter.
(CNN) — Suffice it to say that of all possible storylines to emerge, heading into the election of a new pope, sensational charges of a shadowy “gay lobby” (possibly linked to blackmail), whose occult influence may have been behind the resignation of Benedict XVI, would be right at the bottom of the Vatican’s wish list.
Proof of the Vatican’s irritation came with a blistering statement Saturday complaining of “unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories,” even suggesting the media is trying to influence the papal election.
Two basic questions have to be asked about all this. First, is there really a secret dossier about a network of people inside the Vatican who are linked by their sexual orientation, as Italian newspaper reports have alleged? Second, is this really why Benedict XVI quit?
The best answers, respectively, are “maybe” and “probably not.”
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